Hong Kong moves into the global top 30 on global liveability index

Hong Kong is the Asia Pacific region’s 15th most liveable location for Asian expatriates, rising to 28th place in the global rankings. It has reduced the gap between itself and Singapore, which is ranked first globally as well as in Asia. This was one of the findings of the latest Location Ratings survey for expatriate living conditions published by ECA International, the world's leading provider of knowledge, information and software for the management and assignment of employees around the world.

Hong Kong remains favourably placed in Asia, ranking behind Singapore and locations in Japan. However, its rise in the global rankings bely the fact that Hong Kong’s ranking, relative to other leading locations in Asia, is undermined by long-standing problems affecting the territory, most notably air pollution. Our findings confirm that Hong Kong still has some of the highest levels of air pollution in the region, which prevent it from going higher in our rankings.
”

- Lee Quane, Regional Director – Asia, ECA International

Updated annually, ECA's Location Ratings system objectively evaluates a host of factors to form an assessment of the overall quality of living in over 460 locations worldwide. The system helps companies establish appropriate allowances to compensate employees for the adjustment required when going on international assignment. Factors assessed include climate; availability of health services; housing and utilities; isolation; access to a social network and leisure facilities; infrastructure; personal safety; political tensions and air quality.

Hong Kong’s regional rival, Singapore, has secured the global top spot for the 17th year running. Solid infrastructure, decent medical facilities, low crime and low health risks have contributed to Singapore maintaining its position at the top of the global ranking for quality of living for Asian assignees.

“Our ranking accounts for the impact of relatively high levels of air pollution in the Lion City last year in comparison to previous years. Although this also impacted our assessment of Singapore, the fact that it scores so well in all of the other factors that we analyse means that Singapore retained its top spot,” said Quane.

Asia Pacific highlights

Macau has climbed 5 places in the global rankings this year to 81st position, up from 86th place last year, owing to marginal improvements in the availability of goods and services there.

Scores have generally remained stable across most Chinese locations. Shanghai, ranked 110th globally for the second year in a row, remains the most liveable of the mainland Chinese locations assessed. Suzhou and Beijing (joint 123rd) are China’s second most liveable locations. Xi’an saw the most significant overall improvement in the Asia region over the past year, with its re-emergence as an important educational, cultural, and industrial centre of the central-northwest region.

Chinese locations continue to rise in our rankings as the quality of living in mainland China improves. However, notwithstanding the notable performance of Xi’an, the rate of rise in our rankings has slowed down. This reflects the fact that there are challenges associated with more deep-rooted issues such as air pollution, food safety, medical facilities and socio-political tensions. Without improvements in these criteria, we anticipate that Chinese locations will not advance much further in our rankings.
”

- Lee Quane, Regional Director – Asia, ECA International

Australian locations dominate the global top 10 with Adelaide and Sydney occupying joint second place. Brisbane (5th), Perth (7th), and Canberra (9th) join them at the top of the rankings. In the Asia Pacific region, the most notable climb in the rankings was Australia’s Darwin. The city rose from 45th to 24th place in the global rankings as its scoring in education improved.

In India, Bengaluru, ranked 174th globally, scores most favourably followed by Chennai and Mumbai (joint 183rd). New Delhi (208th) is the least liveable. Along with Beijing, New Delhi has the worst score for air quality not just in Asia but globally.

Malaysian locations have also fallen slightly in the global rankings. Kuala Lumpur is in 120th position, down from 118th last year.

The Pakistani cities of Islamabad (262nd) and Karachi (268th) remain as the region’s least liveable locations with the worst scores for personal security and social-political tensions. They are the hardest locations surveyed in Asia for expatriates to adapt to living and working in.

Global overview

For Asian expatriates going to live and work in Europe, Copenhagen and Bern offer the best quality of living, ranking 9th and 13th in the global rankings respectively. The German city of Stuttgart has seen Europe’s biggest drop in the global rankings, down to 46th place from 27th position last year, largely due to a significant worsening in its air pollution score.

In North America, Vancouver (24th) remains as the most liveable location, followed by San Francisco and Seattle (joint 39th). While in Latin America, the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo (121st), scores more favourably for Asian assignees, followed by Chile's Santiago (131st).

Dubai (109th globally) is the location in the Middle East which requires the least adjustment for Asian assignees overall.

For Asian assignees going to Africa, Port Louis, Mauritius, (119th) affords the best quality of living followed by Cape Town (133rd).

Globally, the hardest locations to adapt to living and working in are the Afghan locations of Kandahar (275th) and Lashkar Gah (276th).

Regional and global ranking of Asian locations

Asia Pacific Rank 2016

Location

Global Rank 2016

Global Rank 2015

1

Singapore

1

1

2

Osaka

2

4

2

Sydney

2

2

2

Adelaide

2

2

5

Brisbane

5

5

5

Wellington

5

5

7

Nagoya

7

7

7

Perth

7

10

9

Canberra

9

7

10

Tokyo

11

11

10

Yokohama

11

11

12

Melbourne

13

11

13

Auckland

15

15

14

Darwin

24

45

15

Hong Kong

28

33

16

Christchurch

59

65

17

Taipei

71

65

18

Busan

76

76

19

Macau

81

86

20

Seoul

93

93

21

Kaohsiung

102

101

22

Ulsan

103

103

23

Shanghai

110

110

24

Bangkok

111

112

25

Chiang Mai

112

112

26

George Town

117

118

27

Kuala Lumpur

120

118

28

Beijing

123

122

28

Suzhou

123

124

30

Nanjing

127

130

30

Johor Bahru

127

126

32

Bandar Seri Begawan

129

132

33

Xiamen

131

130

34

Guangzhou

133

133

35

Qingdao

138

139

36

Dalian

140

140

37

Shenzhen

145

143

38

Chengdu

149

150

38

Chongqing

149

150

40

Wuhan

154

155

41

Tianjin

155

152

42

Ho Chi Minh City

158

159

43

Hanoi

159

159

44

Xi'an

160

173

45

Vientiane

172

171

46

Bangalore

174

171

47

Colombo

179

182

48

Metro-Manila

181

178

49

Mumbai

183

182

49

Chennai

183

182

51

Pune

190

194

51

Phnom Penh

190

197

53

Hyderabad

201

201

54

Ulaanbaatar

203

201

55

Kolkata

205

203

56

Jakarta

206

208

57

New Delhi

208

204

58

Surabaya

217

217

58

Yangon

217

220

60

Port Moresby

226

229

61

Kathmandu

234

230

62

Dhaka

247

247

63

Lae

252

253

64

Pyongyang

254

254

65

Islamabad

262

261

66

Karachi

268

269

Location

Country

Global Rank 2016

Global Rank 2015

Top 10 most liveable locations globally for Asian expatriates

Singapore

Singapore

1

1

Adelaide

Australia

2

2

Sydney

Australia

2

2

Osaka

Japan

2

4

Brisbane

Australia

5

5

Wellington

New Zealand

5

5

Perth

Australia

7

10

Nagoya

Japan

7

7

Canberra

Australia

9

7

Copenhagen

Denmark

9

7

About ECA's Location Ratings

• Standard allowance calculations:

Updated annually, ECA International's Location Ratings System measures the quality of expatriate living conditions in over 460 locations around the world to arrive at a fair and consistent assessment of the level of difficulty the expatriate will experience in adapting to a new location. Factors evaluated include climate; availability of health services; housing and utilities; isolation; access to a social network and leisure facilities; infrastructure; personal safety; political tensions and air quality.

ECA's Location Ratings are delivered through ECA's Location Allowance Calculator which offers a transparent and detailed system for calculating location allowances for expatriates relocating to a new country. The system recognises that where an employee is going from and to can affect the level of adaptation required on the part of the assignee for some of these factors. Users can select region-to-city allowances or city-to-city allowances, so that depending on a company's policy the system reflects the level of detail required.
To read more about factors influencing ECA's Location Ratings, download the free Location Ratings Global Perspectives report here

About ECA International

ECA International is the market leading provider of knowledge, information and technology that enables businesses to manage their international reward programmes.

Partnering with thousands of clients on every continent, we provide a fully integrated suite of quality data, specialist software, consultancy and training. Our unparalleled insights guide clients as they mobilise their most valuable resource: people.

We make the complex world of international mobility simple, providing clients with the expertise and support they need to make the right decisions - every time.

ECA International: Mobility solutions for a world that’s constantly moving.